Saturday 29 December 2012

Tracks Played from 24th December - The Christmas Show

Here are the tracks that were played 24th December and over Christmas.

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
David Mead - The Smile of Rachael Ray
Martin Newell - Christmas In Suburbia
25th of Last December - Roberta Flack
Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis - Tom Waits
A Snowflake Fell and it Felt Like a Kiss - Glasvegas
Walk Out To Winter - Aztec Camera
All We Want for Christmas is to Be Famous - Pierce Turner
Getting Ready for Christmas Day - Paul Simon
Winter Forever - Zervas & Pepper
Christmas Is Coming Soon - Blitzen Trapper
Merry We Will Be - Angelo Branduardi

I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and wish you a very happy 2013!

Thursday 27 December 2012

The Joy Formidable - Wolf's Law

The Joy Formidable, a band from Mold in Flintshire, have been around a while now.   This track Wolf's Law http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_Y9nEPttcJ4  is the title track from their forthcoming album, due for release on 21st January 2013. 

Their critically acclaimed 2011 debut album, The Big Roar, saw the band gather a frenzied and loyal fan base, mainly due to their almost constant touring and supporting slots for bands like The Manic Street Preachers, Muse and The Foo Fighters.  And despite lead singer Ritzy Bryan's short stature, she is a confident and powerful presence and has no problem filling the largest of venues with her powerful vocals and strong musicianship.

The Joy Formidable's roots began back in 2007 after the demise of Sidecar Kisses.  Their debut single, Austere, was released in 2008,  followed in the summer by another single, Cradle, and then an 8 track ep, A Balloon Called Moaning came out in 2009.  By the time The Big Roar was released, The US had taken the band to their hearts in a big way.  They were signed by major label, Universal, which meant they were able to base themselves over in America and tour in much larger venues than in the UK.  They also recently played on the David Letterman show.

Rocksound recently said of Wolf's Law "Bold, beguiling and frequently brilliant. This is an album of myriad charms"   If you can't wait until the end of January, you can find a few track videos and teasers on both YouTube and on the band's website.




http://www.thejoyformidable.com/


Saturday 22 December 2012

Tracks Played Week 5 - 17th December 2012

Here are the tracks that were played w/c 17 December 2012:

Alabama Shakes - Hold On
Donald Fagen - Weather In My Head
Deacon Blue - The Hipsters
Tears for Fears - The Working Hour
Wild Swans - Bible Dreams
Dave O'Grady - Bones
Gary Edward Jones - Friends of Mine
Isaac Birchall - Take It All
The Bees - Go Where You Wanna Go
The Beach Boys - From There To Back Again/Pacific Coast Highway/Summer's Gone

If you are a new band or musician and you would like to be featured in The Music Truffler show, please get in touch with me via this blog or through the Radio Clwyd website, Facebook or Twitter page.

Thursday 20 December 2012

Dave O'Grady - Bones

As I said in a recent post, I am trying to catch up with all the artists I missed writing about when not having the time to post on here.  Here is another one now.

Dave O'Grady is from Dublin is currently based in Liverpool.  Although young, he's been around a bit.  For example, he played his first show at 13, was personally selected to support Rich Robinson (Black Crowes) on his European tour, has played alongside Bon Jovi, Ringo Starr, Russell Watson, The Beautiful South and Seal, is a mentor at LIPA and, according to his website, makes the women swoon and the men jealous with gritty acoustic blues and the voice of a darkened angel. 

Bones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er7ki6hJ4CA from his ep Dirty Little Secret is a great example of this man's talent, although to be honest, I was spoilt for choice when it came to choosing a song to showcase here.  There are plenty to choose from on YouTube so if you have some time, take a look for yourself.

I've seen Dave play live and can recommend him although If you want to see him this year, I'm afraid you've missed your chance.  There was a show at the Shakespeare in Southport due on Saturday night, however the news on his Facebook page reveals it's been cancelled because the management are more interested in karaoke.   Tragic sign of the times.

The good news is he will be touring again in the new year.




http://www.daveogrady.com


Sunday 16 December 2012

Tracks Played Week 4 - From 10th December 2012

Here are the tracks that were played w/c 10 December 2012:

Seasick Steve - Back In The Doghouse
Folks - Say Something
Houndmouth - Penitentiary
Vintage Trouble - Blues Hand Me Down
Fitz & The Tantrums - Breakin' the Chains of Love
Xander & The Peace Pirates - I'm No Good
Isaac Birchall - Empty Generation
Mono - Life In Mono
The Stepkids - Shadows on Behalf
Willy Mason - Restless Fugitive
Arcade Fire - We Used To Wait

If you are a new band or musician and you would like to be featured in The Music Truffler show, please get in touch with me via this blog or through the Radio Clwyd website or Facebook page.

Friday 14 December 2012

John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts

Now I'm really excited.  There I was, scrolling distractedly though my Facebook newsfeed the other day and suddenly this catches my eye... "John Grant returns with second album Pale Green Ghosts". 

Released Monday 11th March on the Bella Union label, this album has been a long time coming for his devoted fans.  Thankfully, John has allowed us to take a peek at the video for the title track, Pale Green Ghosts http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ux1fglC0aT0  and I am pleased to report this is something really special. 

John's album from 2010, Queen of Denmark, was a work of such exquisite beauty that I must admit I was a little nervous as I clicked on the video to take my first listen.  How could John ever come close to that first album (you can find me waxing lyrical about it in one of the very first Music Truffler posts if you're interested).  But thankfully, he has returned with something a little different but still outstanding.  This track has a wonderful throbbing electro sound to it - menacing and yet beautiful at the same time (how could it not be with John's melting baritone over the top?)

Recorded in Iceland, the album includes Sinead O'Connor on guest vocals.   A quick glance through his Facebook page reveals that his fans are more than thrilled with this song.  There is mention of a March tour, but I can't find anything about it yet except one gig in London on 17 March.  Never mind London... come up north... AND SOON!!! 

http://johngrantmusic.com/

Monday 10 December 2012

Houndmouth - Penitentiary

I'm still trying to catch up on here with all the bands and musicians I was enjoying when I was unable to post on Truffler.  Here is one of those now.

Houndmouth is a folk/rock (as opposed to folk rock) band from the lowland plains and farmland of Indiana and Kentucky.  Like many of the new bands that find their way onto my turntable or ipod nowadays, they seem to take their inspiration from The Band.  More unusually, these guys have signed to the Rough Trade label.  Penitentiary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hws_N4St0BU from their self-titled ep is a fine song.  And although the other tracks don't quite hit the spot in the same way, this is their first release and it will be worth watching to see whether they mature and maybe even find their own identity.  This would be the best thing for them in the long run as they do run the risk of disappearing amongst similar sounding bands, many of whom are stronger musically and, quite frankly, better.  But it's early days.

Asked where they got the name Houndmouth from, singer Matt Myers stated: “We record at nighttime to get rid of all the noise during the day like sirens and car honks, but there are always these two dogs that the neighbours have that bark all night. We recorded a bunch of tracks and finally get one that we liked, but when we played it back Shane said, “It’s not gonna work, there’s too much houndmouth on this!” He was clearly drunk because no one would say “houndmouth.” Ever.  

The name stuck.  


http://houndmouth.com/

Friday 7 December 2012

Willy Mason - Restless Fugitive











Restless Fugitive http://vimeo.com/54027727  is a track Willy Mason is giving away to celebrate the completion of his third studio album, Carry On.  It is a wonderfully atmospheric piece that's perfect for chilling to on a Friday (as I am and as it is right now).  In fact by the end of the  6:18min playing time, you may not want to do anything else at all - except chill some more.  Which is fine of course. 

So what can I tell you about Willy Mason?  He was born in New York and his parents are both folk singers.  This album heralds a return to the music business after a break of five years and has been produced by Dan Carey (Hot Chip, MIA).  Having been likened to Bob Dylan when he first emerged on the music scene, Mason admits that he likes the idea of being an old guy with stories to tell and claims his 5 years away have been spent hunting down stories.  Earlier this year he supported Ben Howard and says he enjoys the UK and promises to return around March 2013.


http://www.willymason.net

Monday 3 December 2012

Folks - Say Something

I was sent a track by Folks the other day... it was good, but this isn't it.  I found this little ditty when I decided to explore further and I'm glad I did, because what we have here in Say Something  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mkw_3QUSrcg is a perfect slice of northern pop. 

Folks have been around a few years, although I See Cathedrals, released 28 September 2012 is their debut album.  Having just listened to snippets, I can hear bits of The Feeling crossed with The Black Crows, a bit of The Beatles at their most poppy and Noel Gallagher.  Noel is a fan incidentally, and Folks supported his band, The High Flying Birds, last year. 

Currently supporting Band of Skulls, they are at Nottingham tonight and have still to play at Manchester (their home town), Birmingham, London, Northampton and Southampton.  It should be a good show. 

You can get two or three free tracks if you visit their website and Facebook pages, which is a shame in a way, because it could deter the lazy from buying the whole album.  But then again, if it gets them heard and played, that can't be a bad thing.  I look forward to hearing more from these guys in the future. 


http://www.wearefolks.com/about/

Tracks Played Week 3 - from 30th November 2012

Here's a list of the tracks played in the 3rd Music Truffler Show.  Due to the slightly longer show length, the final two tracks weren't announced - sorry!  This show aired on 30th November and is repeated this week (from 3rd December):

1.  ELO - Standin' In The Rain
2.  ELO - Big Wheels
3.  Reverend & The Makers - The Wrestler
4.  The Family Rain - Trust Me... I'm A Genius
5.  Foxygen - Shuggie
6.  Audiobloom - Only You
7.  Lol Creme & Kevin Godley - 5 O'Clock In The Morning
8.  Steely Dan - Dirty Work
9.  Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
10.  Beirut - A Candle's Fire
11.  Mariachi El Bronx - 48 Roses
12.  Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Patio Song
13.  The Midnight Ramble- Stronger
14.  The Phoenix Foundation - Bright Grey

If you are a new band or musician and you would like to be featured in The Music Truffler show, please get in touch with me via this blog or through the Radio Clwyd website or Facebook page.


Tuesday 27 November 2012

Foxygen - Shuggie

Foxygen are an American indie rock duo formed in Westlake Village, California by Jonathan Rado and Sam France.  Both aged just 22 years old, it appears they have raided their parents' record collections for influences and have taken bits from everyone and everywhere to create something rather wonderful. 

Shuggie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7NKPvosj0A&feature=relmfu is currently available free to download and is a taster of what is to come when they release their album, We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, early in 2013. 

Shuggie, and a couple of other tracks I have listened to by the duo, are a delightful mishmash of styles, genres and tempos that can sound confusing at first but with repeated listenings, can be quite liberating.  They don't quite fit into any pigeonhole and yet you can hear shades of almost anyone in there.  For example, they have been likened at times to retro 60s French pop, The Kinks, Bowie, Lou Reed and The Monkees... don't believe it?  Well, listen for yourself.   My guess is that we will all hear something different in there. 

Foxygen are certainly interesting.  Whether they can hold it all together for a full album remains to be seen but for now, I have popped this little gem onto my iPod and look forward to it brightening my day. 



Monday 26 November 2012

The Family Rain - Trust Me... I'm a Genius

So who are The Family Rain?  Well, they are three brothers, but they don't sound anything like the Beach Boys or the Bee Gees.  The sound they make is powerful, grip-you-by-the-ears type pop.  Take this track for instance, Trust Me... I'm A Genius  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DXYzrsJAJQE  which is all fuzzy guitars and screechy vocals (for which I'm a bit of a sucker).  They hail from Bath... and that's about all I can tell you because there isn't much out there on the world wide web... except to mention that they were recently on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch (no, I didn't catch that either) and played in the Swn Festival during October.  This single came out on 19th November and there is also mention of an album, hopefully completed by February, so I will be keeping a lookout for that. 

So to end that meagre posting may I suggest you just listen to the song itself.  Which at 2 minutes 12 seconds isn't going to take too long.  Unless, like me, you decide to play it twice.

Sunday 25 November 2012

Tracks played Week 2 - 19 November 2012

The Music Truffler has been very busy with other jobs recently so apologies for not updating you with new bands and musicians as often as I should.  Expect a few posts this week though as I get back into the swing of things.

Meanwhile, here is a list of the tracks played during the show aired week commencing 19th November 2012.

1.  The Heavy - What Makes A Good Man
2.  Robert Vincent - Riot's Cry
3.  The Dead Trees - Word Gone Global
4.  Hooded Fang - Tosta Mista
5.  Michael Kiwanuka - Tell Me A Tale
6.  Massive Attack featuring Terry Callier - Live With Me
7.  Donald Fagen - Miss Marlene
8.  Focus - Father Bacchus
9.  The Jayhawks - Hide Your Colours
10.  Ronnie Parry - Trust & Money
11.  The Zombies - Show Me The Way
12.  Phantom Limb - Harder Than Stone

Friday 16 November 2012

The Music Truffler Radio Show

The Music Truffler now has it's own radio show on Radio Clwyd http://www.radioclwyd.co.uk/RadioClwyd/Home2.html   You can listen in online and also via the Radio Clwyd Facebook page or from the link at the bottom of this blog page.

The pilot show ran all this week between 8 and 9pm.  I have listed the songs featured below.  The aim of the programme is to play new/recently new songs and rarely played oldies.  And just generally good music!  We will have a regular spot where we feature local musicians (North Wales and Merseyside) but we are also open to new artists from further afield so please contact me if you would like to be featured in future shows.

The list of artists and songs in the pilot show was as follows:

Things Will Change - Treetop Flyers
Black Dirt - The Midnight Ramble
Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes
Buffalo Crow - Zervas & Pepper
First Time Ever - Broadcaster featuring Peggy Seeger
Quatre Main - dEUS
Turn Your Heart Around - Colin Blunstone
Somebody Like You - AM & Shawn Lee
I Wanna Go To Marz - John Grant
Surf's Up - The Beach Boys
Born Alone - Wilco
Madness - Muse

Hope you can listen in!

Friday 9 November 2012

Robert Vincent - Riot's Cry


Robert Vincent, at the time of writing, has just released Riot's Cry http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e2ja1KUZMlY,  a wonderful 3min 45seconds of jangly guitar and strangled vocals that sounds, well, oh so Liverpool... and I love it!

Liverpool is blessed at the moment in having so many good artists around.  Wander into many of the small bars and cafes on any evening and you can see a fantastic range of singer-songwriters, musicians and bands.  I haven't seen Robert play live yet, but I may just go to Leaf on Bold Street on 29th November when he is on with the wonderful Dave O'Grady and White Bicycles.

Robert has been described by Q magazine as being a "searingly honest Liverpool singer-songwriter whose mix of folk, rock and country is like a Mersey Van Morrison or a Scouse Springsteen".  I'm not sure about that description but I'm certainly eager to hear more.  Thankfully I won't have long to wait.  He has an album due for release early in the new year called Life In Easy Steps which is also the title of his next single,

Says Robert "I’ve done the whole thing of trying to be what people want me to be.  And in the end I just thought I’ve had enough of this. The songs I’ve written now, some of them sound like Johnny Cash and some of them like 50s rock’n’roll – but they’re what I wanted to write. And the funny thing is, the more honest I am the better people like it."

You can hear more of Robert's work on http://soundcloud.com/robertvincentmusic, including sessions on BBC London and BBC 5 Live.


http://robertvincentmusic.com/












Friday 12 October 2012

Broadcaster - First Time Ever - featuring Peggy Seeger

If I said to you there were some great new workings of Peggy Seeger's songs just released, I'll bet you wouldn't imagine for one minute they would sound like this.  In fact, you may even lose interest completely, but stay with me...

Broadcaster's album, Folksploitation, is an interesting one.  Featuring vocals by Peggy Seeger it revisits songs such as The First Time Ever http://youtu.be/M_rLjYll85Q and completely slashes them to pieces and rebuilds them... bionically.  For instance this one now has a rather sinister feel to it and the words take on (for me) an entirely different meaning.  I shouldn't like it but it's wonderful!  Whereas I would run a mile before listening to Gary Barlow sing Forever Autumn, Blue singing Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, or even any of Jeff Lynne's pointless reworkings of his old ELO hits, this is something I love.  If you are going to re-do something, then COMPLETELY re-do.  What we have at the end is something that bears absolutely no comparison to the original song.

Peggy herself completely re did all the vocals on these songs and was completely open to the challenge of them being sung over dub, groove and techno beats.  “This is as far from traditional folk music as you can get,” she says, ”but these are impossible musical recipes that work despite everything.  I feel like I’ve been musically ‘outed’ – this is certainly further out than I’ve ever been!  I think Ewan would be fascinated.”

And as for Broadcaster? “I love pushing a song to its extremes – I take all the crispy bits and see what I can do to reinvent them.  Subverting songs is a long process and naturally there’s a lot that ends up on the cutting room floor.  But I think we’ve achieved something unusual that challenges the notion of genres and pushes a boundary or two.”

http://broadcasteruk.com/folksploitation/ 







Saturday 16 June 2012

Zervas and Pepper - Cigar Store Indian

Cardiff based duo Zervas and Pepper released their debut album, Somewhere In The City, last year.  However it is only now that it appears to be catching on with a lot of radio stations and music lovers.  The wonderful Cigar Store Indian (of which you can find a beautiful acoustic version here)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVg8AG6qFJI  is receiving airplay everywhere it seems and indeed it is the track that caught my attention last week. 

Around 5 or 6 years ago, Paul Zervas and Kathryn Pepper were both established singer songwriters playing the club circuit separately.  Both did mainly cover versions of west coast songs and both slipped in the occasional original track.  It was inevitable I suppose that they would eventually get together.  And they blend well.  There have been a couple of earlier eps but this is their first joint album, which after such a long time together is somewhat surprising, although Zervas has hinted that the prevous eps were outtakes from two albums which they decided not to release at the very last minute.  Certainly some of the songs on the debut are a little weak, but there are some wonderful tracks on there so it is well worth checking out.  Music for long summer drives... if summer ever arrives.

http://www.zervaspepper.co.uk/




Saturday 9 June 2012

dEUs - Quatre Mains



Belgium's dEUs have released another album.  Called Following Sea, this follows on surprisingly quickly from 2011's wonderful Keep You Close.  The reason, apparently, is that they had quite a few songs left over from the making of Keep You Close which hadn't suited the feel of that album.  Also they wanted to work in a slightly different way; being 'less precious' about how they were recorded.  They wanted to be more spontaneous and it was recorded in between tours, literally getting off the tour bus and going into the studio.  They found it refreshing to be working more quickly.  The quick release came about simply because the songs were ready and they wanted people to be able to hear them.

Quatre Mains http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsFfHdqNOWI  is the first single to be taken from this album and is something of a departure from their usual style.  Most notably it is sung in French.  I came to dEUs late and hadn't realised this was the first time they had recorded a song in French, but the French lyric happened purely by accident and certainly wasn't intended to be this way.  Lead singer Tom Barman explains that Quatre Mains started out very differently, as the result of a jam session.   Unable to get it quite right, or work out a melody line, Tom he began talking over it in French and it worked. 

I wish I'd paid more attention in French lessons because I have no idea what Tom is talking about in Quatre Mains, but it sounds good anyway.

http://www.deus.be/home/

Tuesday 5 June 2012

The Midnight Ramble - Lions


I'm a bit late posting this single by The Midnight Ramble.  Called Lions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObL_7T2K6Kg  it was released on 11th May and is a terrific single.   It was put out as a taster for the debut album, Sink The Pieces, which was released last week.  Sink the Pieces is a short but perfectly formed collection of songs by the Liverpool guys who are creating something of a buzz around the North West area.  I can vouch for their talent, having seen them supporting Phantom Limb recently. 

There are a few quieter songs on the album which are great, but it is when they rock out that they really shine.   Lead singer Paul Dunbar has a powerful voice and with the band's various instruments - guitar, banjo, saxophone, trumpet, flute, clarinet and (it says on their Facebook page although I have yet to hear it) glockenspiel,  it all combines to lend a unique flavour to the standard rock band sound.

Perhaps choosing this name was a mistake - after all Levon Helm got there first and is still top of Google pages and will be for some considerable time.  But then again they are a upcoming band and time may rectify this.


www.themidnightramble.com


Monday 9 April 2012

Alabama Shakes - I Found You

Remember this band?  I posted one of their songs on here (Hold On) in November last year after hearing their ep.  At last their long-awaited album, Boys and Girls, has been released to huge hype and acclaim (all of it deserved).  The first thing I did on waking this morning was to download it.  And here is another track for you, I Found Youhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnVSUH6_oBY

If you like to try before you buy, it is available to stream on the Guardian and NPR websites or you can watch them performing live on YouTube. 

Interestingly the band have only just given up their full time jobs (Brittany Howard was a postwoman and Steve the drummer worked at a local nuclear power plant) to concentrate on music full time.  They find this really scary but I don't think they need worry.  Although the music business is notoriously fickle, I can't see that this band will go unnoticed.  Brittany's voice is impossible to ignore and already the word is out and the press are banging at their door.  So forget Adele and Lana del Ray.  This is the real deal.  Watch this space. 

http://www.alabamashakes.com/

Monday 2 April 2012

Hooded Fang - Tosta Mista

Hooded Fang are a 7 piece Canadian indie-rock band who hail from Toronto, Canada.  They released their first album (called Album) in 2010 which followed on from their debut ep (entitled EP, naturally). Their latest album, Tosta Mista (of which this is the title track)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rETZbGv-frI
followed in March of this year in the UK.

Nominated for the Polaris Prize, for Album, which is the Canadian version of Mercury, they are a real rival to Arcade Fire in their home country.  And they are now gaining popularity outside Canada too.

Apparently this album was formed around the break up of two band members - Daniel and April, but you wouldn't necessarily know that as it is delightfully poppy and upbeat.  

They are touring the UK, supported by Howler (another Truffler recommendation from last year) during May (1st-16th) and then heading over to Europe for the remainder of the month.  I might just check them out.

http://hoodedfang.com/

Sunday 18 March 2012

AM & Shawn Lee - Somebody Like You

I really love the new album by AM & Shawn Lee.  Called Celestial Electric, this track, Somebody Like You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDMsWHyOors, was the first one I heard from it and I was immediately hooked.  I love the production, the drum licks, the guitar, keyboard, vocals, EVERYTHING!  I also love this little video which shows them putting this track together... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCFSxmIf1As
In fact the only thing I'm not sure about is AM's moustache but hey, that's a small gripe.

Guitarist and songwriter AM was born in Tulsa and was raised in New Orleans.  Shawn Lee is a musician and multi-instrumentalist who is originally from Witchita, Kansas, but who now resides in London.   Both have created a name for themselves individually over recent years (AM supporting Air and Charlotte Gainsbourgh and Shawn Lee playing in various bands, most notably Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra) and and have been popular across Europe, especially France.  And it was their shared love of French and Italian film music that drew them to each other.  They finally got together last year and created this wonderful album full of of funky 70s retro grooves with a smattering of psychedelia.

AM has admitted to loving old 70s records and in homage to them has listed all the playing credits on the album in detail.  He recalls reading the back of a Rush album and seeing "Geddy Lee - Taurus Pedals" and thinking what are Taurus Pedals?  Some magic instrument from another land?  He wanted to create that same feeling in their own listeners.

Despite the nod to 60s and 70s sound however (and there is even a cover of The Ozark Mountain Daredevil's Jackie Blue on the album),   Celestial Electric is an album that could only have been made now.   It's the perfect throwback, chill out album to enjoy whatever your mood (or era).

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings

I heard Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtOToiIDNRA&feature=share  on the radio last week and loved it so much I couldn't wait for it to finish so I could find out who it was and get myself a copy.  The song was by Father John Misty who is actually Josh Tillman, ex-Fleet Foxes drummer.  I found that interesting because I am a HUGE Fleet Foxes fan, but this doesn't really sound anything like them.

It isn't just a case of another drummer suddenly thinking he can have a go at singing and songwriting either.  Tillman was a singer and songwriter on the Seattle folk scene long before joining Fleet Foxes.  And he has now made the decision to concentrate on this full time, having recently played his final show with the band in Tokyo. 

The album, Fear Fun, will be released on 1st May.

http://fatherjohnmisty.com/

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Lambchop - Gone Tomorrow

I don't know a huge amount about Lambchop although I am aware of them.  For some reason they have been on the periphery of my listening for what seems like years but this is the first time I have really sat down and listened to one of the songs, Gone Tomorrow, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAqMT3_NFyw&ob=av2n.
And I like it.  Really like it.  Laid back, cool, emotive, with an extended coda of mounting tension which never really leads anywhere (but is all the better for that), it comes from their latest album Mr M, which came out at the end of last month.

Singer Kurt Wagner is the lead singer of Nashville-based Lambchop who are described as an alternative-country band (horrible description that one, but never mind - use their record label's description of 'Nashville's most f*cked up country band' if you prefer).  Wagner never wanted to be a musician.  He was a painter and continued with this work when they began to be successful.  They have been around for a long time, since the 1990s, and have a back catalogue that is well worth delving into, eleven albums in fact.  As I have found out, this track is a good enough place to start.

http://www.lambchop.net/

Thursday 1 March 2012

Gaz Coombes - Sub divider

Gaz Coombes, yes he of former bouncy Brit pop band Supergrass, has a new album coming out on 21st May called Here Come the Bombs.  If this track is anything to go by, his style has become much darker.  You can download Sub divider for free (details on the website, his Facebook page and also on this YouTube video).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVXkD2K5NY&feature=relmfu It is a slow grower (it took me about 3 listens to get into it) but now it's really wormed its way under my skin.  There is a quiet menace at the start of the song which builds gradually until it pushes its way to the fore at the end of the song; powerful and aggressive.  "I'm a wicked man" he sings and we can believe it.  The chords remind me of Nirvana at their best.

The first single will be called 'Hot Fruit' and Gaz will be touring soon, but there are no dates as yet.

http://www.gazcoombes.com/

Friday 17 February 2012

Phantom Limb - The Pines

I am just listening again to the new album by Bristol band, Phantom Limb.  Called The Pines (of which this is the title track)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvcVcd-WJas
it was released on 13th February and is a wonderful mix of southern soul and country blues.  In fact the description on their website says it perfectly - One listen to Phantom Limb and you instantly find yourself transported to that all-too-often unexplored crossroads between country music and old style R&B. This is a band steeped in a tradition where the two genres share their musical DNA. It’s The Staples Singers fronting The Band in The Last Waltz, Ray Charles striking gold when he made his first country album, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham down in Muscle Shoals writing Do Right Woman, a song that would go on to be recorded by both Aretha Franklin and The Flying Burrito Brothers.    Curious enough to want to take a listen?  You should be - because you won't be disappointed.

Lead singer Yolanda Quartey explains that as a child she listened to all sorts of music.  She enjoyed singing along to both Aretha Franklin and Dolly Parton, loves The Band and insists that despite everyone trying to segregate music, it is impossible to do so.  She has also worked as a backing singer for a variety of artists over the years.  Massive Attack, Will Young and Dizzy Rascal to name three.

Formed in 2004, The Pines is Phantom Limb's second album and it was produced by Marc Ford from The Black Crowes.


http://phantomlimbmusic.com/

Friday 10 February 2012

David Fisher - Valentine

The track Valentine isn't on the album Honeytrap by David Fisher but I think I might well take a listen to the album if this track is anything to go by. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCfKs8MoYcU
I posted the album cover here mainly because I am a huge 1970s fan and the Look-In inspired art c/o Nick Spender caught my eye.  Fisher is a big 1970s fan too according to his website,  and the album is apparently littered with references to that decade... but I haven't listened yet so we will have to return to this another time because I am posting another track for now.

It is nearly February 14th and, although I wasn't actually looking for an appropriate song to mark the occasion, this popped up and it is pretty good.   According to Fisher, it began life as a Tom Waits style blues song until drummer Steve Creese completely changed it into what we have here during one of their sessions. 

David Fisher appears to be an interesting guy.  At the beginning of his career, he was quite happy to get out there and do his own marketing and performs as often as possible to promote his promo cd which was on his own label.  He has performed alongside some great session musicians and also John Cooper Clarke (respect!)  He has, amongst other things, co-written and performed a tv theme (for ITV's Stan the Man) and produced a children's nursery rhyme cd.  In fact, his biography seems to reveal someone who doesn't stand still for long.

http://www.summerislerecords.com/davidfisher/index.html

Sunday 5 February 2012

Canon Blue - Indian Summer (Des Moines)

I received this particular track early last week as an extra thrown in from another band who were being supported by Canon Blue on their latest tour.  I really like it.  It has a wonderfully relaxed, early 1980s feel, along the lines of China Crisis or The Lotus Eaters.   Intrigued, I headed over to their website to investigate the latest album and find out a bit more.

Canon Blue is the alias of Nashville-based Daniel James.  The first album, Colonies, came out in 2007 with Rumspringa following in 2011, from which comes this track, Indian Summerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E67VBL3GTrg&feature=related

Canon Blue's influences are many and varied (Scott Walker, Debussy, Tom Waits, Nick Drake and Ennio Morricone amongst them) and he has ambitions to be recognised not just as a singer-songwriter but also as a composer, and this is shown in his description of Rumspringa - an orchestral pop marvel no less, written while touring the world with Danish indie rock band Efterklang. 

Listening to other tracks from Rumspringa whilst writing this, it is clearly an unusual collection.   Andalusia (Davenport) has that other-worldliness also apparent on Kate Bush's 50 Words For Snow, and in Mark Hollis's less commercial offerings.  Nothing wrong with being compared to either of these of course.  It probably won't be the sort of album you will play every day  (Indian Summer is probably the most commercial-sounding track) but that's not to say it isn't a fine collection of interesting, unusual musical pieces.  You can stream it for free on the website.



http://www.canonblue.com/bio#awp::home

Monday 30 January 2012

John K Samson - When I Write My Master's Thesis

John K  Samson lead singer of Canadian band The Weakerthans, released his solo album, Provincial, last week and this the track from it which came to my attention a week or so ago.  Apologies for the delay in posting. When I Write My Master's Thesis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeTtl2JOPFU&feature=related  is the songwriter's take on Dylan's When I Paint My Masterpiece and contains various references to video games and all those nerdy things students do to fill the time when they should be working.  Sound familiar? 

Also just released is a book entitled Lyrics and Poems 1997-2012 and both this and the cd can be ordered through Samson's website.



http://johnksamson.com/

Monday 23 January 2012

Kathleen Edwards - Sidecar

A very quick posting from the Truffler this week as we are in the middle of setting up a new business and I haven't had much time to scout around.  Any new music I have been listening to has been copyright free stuff for our website video.  But to be honest, I don't think any of these tunes would go down well here.

This recent release from Kathleen Edwards called Sidecar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n867LtlXktE  first came to my attention a couple of months ago but it has just been included in Word Magazine's February cd of new music, Now Hear This, and I suddenly remembered that I rather liked it.   The video here is a live version but the recorded track is available from the usual outlets.  It comes from Kathleen's latest album, Voyageur, which was released last week.  If you are still feeling the pinch following Christmas, you can stream it for free on her website.

http://www.kathleenedwards.com/n.htm

Monday 9 January 2012

Various Cruelties - Great Unknown

Happy New Year to you all.  I hope 2012 is a good one for you.  So far, good new music releases have been few and far between but I want to start somewhere so here we have the latest offering by Leeds/London band Various Cruelties called Great Unknown  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LzWMiAHpvc  from their forthcoming self-titled debut album.

Despite high praise being lavished on this band, I find it leaves me somewhat unmoved.  It serves it's purpose as a pleasant indie pop song, but I don't expect I will be dashing out to buy a whole album of the stuff.  Surfing through the net for details of their background it appears they haven't been playing together as a band for too long anyway (just over a year) and frontman Liam O'Donnell admits to it having been a bit of a whirlwind.  Still, they have crammed quite a lot into this first year (the above appearance on Later, festivals, supporting Noah and the Whale and Villagers) so maybe they are doing their growing in public.  It will be interesting to see whether they are still around in a year's time.